West Jefferson High School recently received a $2,500 donation from national retailer Big Lots. The donation was made during the grand opening celebration for the new Big Lots in Harvey on Nov. 16. Principal Christine Templet accepted the $2,500 check from the district manager for Big Lots, Bob Borders.

West Jefferson High School Principal Christine Templet recently accepted a $2,500 donation from Big Lots for the school.

The Dec. 12 meeting for the Westbank Quarterback Club will feature LSU head baseball coach Paul Mainieri as the guest speaker. Outstanding male and female athletes from the West Bank will be recognized. The meeting is open to the public and will take place at Four Columns, 3711 West Bank Expressway. It will begin at 7 p.m. For additional information, call Don Wattigny at 504.228.2202, Al Ott at 504.393.0619 or Wayne Ory at 504.343.5935.

The Jefferson Parish Public School System recently received a $300,000 grant from the Gates Foundation. The school system will use the money to implement a new state-mandated teacher evaluation system, Compass. Grant funds will be used specifically to train principals, assistant principals and some teachers on rating teacher performance.

The second annual “Besh, Hope & Holidays” fundraiser will be held on Dec. 20,to benefit Café Hope and The John Besh Foundation. The event will be held at the Royal Palm, 1901 Manhattan Blvd. “Besh, Hope & Holidays” will feature a patron party and dinner prepared by Chef John Besh and chefs from his restaurants. The patron party will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the dinner is at 8 p.m. Individual tickets start at $125. Patron tickets and sponsorships are also available. For more information, email Erica Halpern at ehalpern@ccano.org or call 504.310.6865.